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The basis of how this works is quite simple. The victim receives some form of communication advising them that they can access a large sum of money. To receive the money, a processing fee of some kind is required. I think people stop thinking once they get to the part advising them they can receive a large sum of money because it occurred to me a long time ago that if this were true, why not simply deduct the requested fee and send me the balance? Another way to look at this is: if you have one a prize and the only way you can collect it is to send money, then you have not really one anything at all.

Many variants of this theme exist, some of which may include:

You have been named a beneficiary in someone's will and are entitled to a large sum of money for which you need to pay a fee in order to have this money released into your bank account. I can't help but wonder about the gullibility of those who do not actually have any overseas relatives yet they still fall for this one.

A government official requests your help to move a large sum of money for which you will be paid a percentage if you either send a transaction fee, or provide your bank account details into which this money can be deposited. How many government officials do you know that are likely to share anything with you?

There are many more yet the theme remains constant, which is you are required to send money up front. The way to avoid falling for this particular scam is obvious don't send money up front.

Phishing (See Reference 2) is a relatively new practice whereby someone pretends to be from a legitimate organisation and sends you e-mail requesting personal and financial details. I have received one of these e-mails and attempted to poke around in the hope of tracking the source. The sender was clearly far more cunning and my feeble attempts went nowhere. What did strike me as particularly nasty was the fact that the e-mail contained the National Australia Bank logo and in all detail looked like a real document. There was a link on the lower section I was supposed to use. This link generated an official looking form with fields requiring all bank account details. On closer inspection, I discovered that clicking literally anywhere on this document sent me straight to the request form.

The practice of phishin is another widely publicised scam yet many people become a victim to the scam and loose their money. The way to avoid loosing money under these circumstances is really quite simple. Do not send

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